Not a Princess
by Wootzel
Summary: She was a girl who did her homework, got good grades, and wanted a handsome prince to find her. She lived in a kingdom where princesses corrupted the peace and where friends are inevitably foes. He wasn't a prince, but he was going to save her. :roxette:
1. 3 Minutes & 40 Seconds

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Ready for yet another Olette story? xD I actually forgot I submitted The Diary You're Not Supposed to Read. -.- Annnyway, here's another Roxette for ya!

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**Not a Princess**

_She put on her crown_  
_She donned the pretty dress_  
_She walked around looking for her prince_  
_But her kingdom began to crumble_  
_The people knew she was a fake-a fraud_  
_She wasn't a princess really_

:three minutes and forty seconds: 

I walked down the street. I couldn't remember this place. It was all so dark and I felt so scared. Where was he? Where was _he_? I timidly shuffled onward, knowing I had to go on. He'd meet me at the end, I just knew it. I picked a careful path on the dingy road I walked on. The trees rose on every side, stretching over the path as though in hopes to block out any source of light there was. Light scarcely penetrated their twisted branches. The air was cold, crisp; it plagued my lungs with its icy grip. _Gotta find him… gotta find him…_

I stumbled ahead, clutching my arms in vain, hoping that I could return some of the stolen warmth. I narrowed my green eyes, seeing a figure ahead. Suddenly my heart was kicked into overdrive. It was pounding in my chest; it was all I could hear. His back was to me and I let out a desperate cry. He didn't move, rather he stared ahead, so still and unmoving he was like a perfect statue. I began to run toward him, holding out one pale arm, hands ready to cling onto his own. And then I spread out my arms and crashed into him, smiling.

"You came! You came to save me!" I cried, clinging onto his arm.

Then, Sora walked away.

- - -

"Oooooletttttte!" A voice cried, waving a hand in front of my eyes.

Startled, I snapped my head up, blinking profusely as I looked around.

"Er, what?" I murmured, still confused.

In front of me Hayner rolled his eyes, his attitude kicked up a few notches by my lack of attention. Pence, beside him, snorted and mirrored Hayner's look of disbelief. I flushed, staring at my lunch tray. It happened AGAIN. I really had to stop zoning out whenever he walked past… last time I ran into a locker. It was just plain pathetic.

"Kinda funny, I guess, 'specially the locker incident," Hayner began, stuffing a fry into his face. I glared at him. "But ya know it's kinda creepy too. He just comes up and you zone out. Weird."

Again I dropped my eyes to my untouched food. Some fries and a deformed burger. Suddenly my appetite evaded me. It was pretty embarrassing how Sora had this ability to knock the senses away from me. All he had to do was brush by and I was out of it. Everything fell away and it was just him and me in that single moment. Sometimes a locker or Hayner's comments intervened our private moment, but they were special anyway.

They would be even greater if Sora acknowledged my existence.

"She has a huge crush on Sora," Pence said. "She can't help it."

Hayner rolled his eyes. Again.

"Since the THIRD grade! You'd think she'd get over it by now! He doesn't even _notice _her!"

This was completely unfair. I wanted to point out that yesterday he asked for my Biology homework. That count, didn't it?

As though his powers were sweeping over me again, my eyes pulled toward him. He sat only two tables away, in the chair where I could see his face perfectly. It was almost as though he was taunting me, flashing his chipper grins periodically and widening his blue eyes whenever my own graced his. Now, however, he was gesturing wildly, those pretty eyes fixed on the silver-haired boy across from him. Riku, I think his name was. I didn't care all that much who he was, because-frankly-he wasn't Sora. Sora looked angry and I wished terribly that I could drift over there and wash away all the pain he surely felt.

Kairi must have been picking up my brain waves for she tugged on Sora's arm and calmed him down with a bat of her lovely cerulean eyes. I tried to keep my face composed, but I could feel the tiniest flick of disgust tug at the corner of my mouth. Kairi. Yuck. She was, perhaps, a princess in disguise. She certainly acted like one. She charged down the hallways with her head held high, shoulders squared and parted peasants like me out of her way. All we could do was stare in awe at her perfection whilst she held the kingdom of Twilight High in place, happily sitting in her throne. Sora would be by her side. He was the king and rightfully so.

I guess I would be the joker, wheeling away for their amusement.

Because I certainly was no princess.

"So, you see that new kid?" Hayner inquired suddenly, drawing me back to reality. _Again._

I didn't even know there WAS a new kid. I was so out of it. To keep myself from answering I popped a fry in my mouth. Pence nodded eagerly, shining brightly with excitement.

"Yeah! He's in our math class! Isn't he Olette?"

Crap. He was? I hadn't even noticed. Probably because Sora was also in that class and I spent it drooling over him accordingly. Hayner must have been thinking along the same lines for he only sighed. Regrettably I hadn't been paying any attention to this supposed new kid. Considering it was November it was a little late to appear for school. Everyone would have known who he was by now. Except me, I guess.

"He's in my Spanish class," Hayner mused. "Seems pretty quiet."

Pence nodded, looking thoughtful. "Funny thing was…he looked just like Sora."

This got my attention. I perked up, hoping that no one noticed my sudden eagerness to breach this topic.

"He does?" I asked as innocently as possible.

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Hayner said, leaning forward as he was getting ready to go into a story. I got comfortable-Hayner could really ramble sometimes. "He just kinda walked in, right? And he didn't say _a word_." I didn't want to point out that not everyone talked nearly as much as he did. "And then he sat down. Even when the teacher called his name for roll he just raised his hand. Maybe he's mute?"

Pence shook his head, "Nope. He answered a question in math-out loud. Anyway, I heard some pretty interesting things about this guy."

"You guys gossip more than girls do," I muttered.

Hayner stuck his tongue out at me, but turned toward Pence with anticipation. Pence was known to have the scoop about everything that went down in Twilight High. And everyone in it. I always wondered how he got all this information when we were the lowest form of life in this place. Who told Pence anything other than Hayner and me? I would always wonder.

"I heard…" Dramatic pause. "That he's in a _gang_."

"No way!" Was Hayner's ingenious response.

Now it was my turn to snort and bring them back to reality.

"A gang? In Twilight Town? _Please_. The worst thing that's ever happened here was when someone stole some photos. As if there would ever be a gang."

Pence shrugged, Hayner looked disappointed.

That was when the bell sounded and my make believe prince gracefully slid from his chair, toting that wicked princess Kairi on his arm. She giggled-too shrilly-at something he said. I swooned, just about to escape into my fantasy world as he passed, until Hayner whacked me on the back of my head.

"C'mon Olette, you're gonna be late!"

If being late meant I could ogle at Sora some more, I could afford it.

- - -

_I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! Oh God, I'm so laaaate! Stupid, stupid, stupid! _I scrambled down the hall. Technically, I was far from being late from a normal student's perspective. I had three minutes and forty seconds until class began. All of my things were clutched haphazardly in arm and it only took a minute and three seconds to get to class. However, because I did take more time than necessary to drink in Sora's perfection, I wouldn't get those precious few minutes before class to settle down and organize my things. I was trying to make up the time, but it was inevitable. I was late in Olette World.

Maybe I was a little distorted too, for I was dodging students rapidly and stumbling every so often. I had every text book I needed for the day in my arms, unable to cram them in my backpack if I hoped to make it to class "on time". I brought them to every class in case I had time to study once I finished my assignments early. The bad thing was that there were a lot of books and it made it a little harder to navigate through the crowded halls. It didn't help that my fellow classmates made a point of elbowing me and sticking their feet in front of me whenever humanly possible.

And then, suddenly, I was falling to the ground, books and papers flying. All around me my classmate's faces blurred and all I could hear my own heart lurching forward in shame. In one terrible moment all I could do was lay on the ground, sprawled there like a pathetic wounded animal. Selphie Tilmitt emerged from the crowd, giggling furiously. I could already hear everyone around me following suit and sputtering in gaggles of giddy laughter.

"Whoops! Looks like Miss Olette stumbled there! You _really _should look where you're going. Maybe if you didn't stare at Sora so much, you could."

It took me five point two nano seconds to figure out that she was the one who tripped me. My face turned bright red at her accusations and I scrambled to my knees to pick up my things while keeping my eyes locked on the floor.

"S-S-Sorry," I sputtered, grabbing whatever was near. Why was I apologizing?

_I should leap right on up and shove my fist into her stupid pudgy face. I should tug on her stupid curled hair and fix it so she looked less like a deflected clown and more human. _I did absolutely nothing.

"That's right, you SHOULD be. I mean, God, you totally ruined my boots."

I looked to her shiny new brown boots. They looked fine to me. As though to add to my torture Kairi appeared to the scene, smirking.

"Oh Selphie! How mean!" She sneered, giggling. "Leave the poor thing alone."

Was it worse that she was being sarcastic?

"Aw, c'mon Kairi! She's always staring at your boyfriend! I get to have some fun, right?"

"It _is_ creepy, isn't it?" She flipped her hair and turned around, basically telling me I was about as worthless as the gum on her shoe.

And then they left as though they were never there. They waddled through the crowd that parted before them easily. Selphie in her too-short yellow dress and Kairi with her pink skirt and top plastered on her so tightly that I thought they were going to suck the life out of her. Unfortunately I wasn't that lucky.

Letting out one rattled breath I began to crawl around and gather my fallen things. It didn't help that people were stomping on my things purposefully.

"Man, what a bitch," was the first thing I ever heard him say.

_Oh God, why can't people leave me alone? _But it wasn't directed at me and rather the boy was staring down the hall where Kairi and Selphie disappeared to. I tried not to look up and hoped that if I ignored him long enough he would just go away. No such luck. He dipped down and began collecting my things too. I couldn't help but notice the cliché way things were turning out. I really hated it when people felt pity for me and I wasn't about to let him do it too.

"I don't need your help," was the first thing I ever said to him.

He looked up and the shade of his eyes set my mind into turmoil. They were blue. My favorite shade of blue, to be precise. Sora's blue. And they were right-he did look just like Sora. He had those same sharp edges that were softened by his wide eyes and rounded cheeks. He was just as tanned and mirrored that innocence Sora latched onto with ease. However, he had an edge-one I couldn't point out at first. He just rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his short blond locks.

"Whatever," and then he began gathering my fallen things again. "Who were those two anyway?"

I was still marveling at his resemblance to Sora and just shrugged.

"Sora's girlfriend and her friend. And really, you don't need to help me."

I wished he would just go away, but he nearly recovered all of my books and papers by then. Sighing, it was then that I noticed I carried a lot of stuff. I seriously needed to cut back.

I guess this is the part where you expect me to fall in love with him and dump my fantasies of Sora and thank him generously for helping me out in my time of need. I suppose you expect then that we'll set up this date to "get to know each other" and promptly admit our feelings for each other then. I'd love him so much and then something bad will happen and we'll break up because, oh my God, it was just that terrible. We'll see all of our wrongs and hook back up and everything will be happily ever after. The End.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Sora's girlfriend, huh? Makes sense."

The way he said it made it sound like an insult. I paused just as I was getting up; ready to retrieve my things, thank him, and move on. Yet, I stopped short, only to finish standing and look right at him. He just insulted Sora. My make believe prince. I glared at him.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" I snapped.

Only when Sora was insulted, beautiful wonderful Sora, would I grow a spine and fight back. It didn't matter that Sora didn't even acknowledge my existence or that he had the perfect most evil girlfriend in the world. That very girlfriend making my life miserable whenever possible along with her deranged lackeys. No, I had to protect Sora in the face of any danger, whenever possible.

"Sora just isn't the brightest crayon in the box, you know? It makes sense that he'd get with someone like that." Now _he _was the defensive one.

"Sora is really smart!" I exclaimed a bit too loudly and passionately. The blond quirked an eyebrow while still looking a bit angry-as amazing as that was.

"Oh yeah? Maybe you don't know Sora too well then," he pointed out, rolling his eyes at me.

"And maybe _you _are just a jerk!" I cried. I snatched my things from his hand and stormed down the hallway completely flustered. I heard the bell sound over my head and only then I noticed the desolate hallways. I sighed, massaging one throbbing temple with my free hand.

"My name is Roxas, by the way! And you're welcome!" He shouted, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

That was the longest three minutes and forty seconds of my life.


	2. Jerk of the Century

**Author's Note: **Chapter 2 already! Yay! Oh, and I responded to everyone's awesome reviews at the bottom Thanks everyone for the favs, alerts, and reviews!

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_And she cried and cried_  
_Because everyone swept by in blurs_  
_She wanted back her rusted crown_  
_She wanted her stained dresses_  
_She wanted her crumbled kingdom_  
_But everyone knew she wasn't a princess._

: jerk of the century :

I liked math, I really did.

There were a few things about the subject that really appealed to me. Math was universal. The numbers didn't change like words and pronunciations did or how theories in science morphed magically. I liked how it was always the same, no matter where you went. Then, there was the fact that Pence was there to help me endure any teasing I might receive. Plus, he was one of my best friends. Last, but CERTAINLY not least, there was Sora.

The guy really had a knack of picking out seats.

I sat in middle of the class and Sora sat one empty desk away. All I had to do was peek at him from the side, where that conveniently empty desk sat, and I could watch his profile for the whole forty-five minutes of class. This caused me to fall behind sometimes, but I'd study harder at home to make up for it. At home I couldn't stare at Sora, so I figured nothing great was lost. Plus, I was a real math-whiz.

All of this lumped together made a reasonably likable period.

But then… he came.

I knew Pence had mentioned him at lunch, had said-precisely-that he was in our class, and that I didn't remember seeing him. Apparently, this was so because he went to the very back of the class and slept through the whole thing. So, our teacher, Mrs. Lockhart, decided he was going to move. It was the very back of the class, she reasoned, that made him fall asleep. That if he was in the conveniently empty seat that he would become a math genius and everything would be happy rainbows and bunnies. Oh joy.

I should have known that he would plop down in the seat that I stared across to see my beloved. I should have guessed that my life wasn't miserable enough here at Twilight High, and that something else had to appear to make it worse. Of course.

It was that Roxas kid. He seemed to hate this whole situation as much as I did. He grimaced as he looked to the two that would be sitting next to him. Me, the psycho girl who had defended Sora, and Sora himself, the guy that was on his other side. At least I knew he was suffering as much as I was.

Roxas wasn't a big guy at all (rather, he was the exact opposite), but the moment he sat down Sora was blocked from my vision. I could hear the sirens going off in my head as my heart shattered to little tiny pieces. I was sure my world was ending. For some reason, though, I was still aware of everything.

Pence was leaning on his desk, eyes wide, craning his neck to watch Roxas unceremoniously stare at a blank wall. It was then I noticed it was probably his stupid hair that was blocking Sora so well. I looked down to my blank paper-where notes were supposed to be-and muttered, "You need a haircut."

Pence looked at me, his eyes miraculously growing in size. My own pair did too. I swear I didn't mean to say that out loud. I didn't feel sorry though, probably because it was Roxas and I liked him about as much as I liked Kairi. Pence was shaking his head rapidly, probably thinking about Roxas's alleged gang, and trying to get me NOT to look at him. Too late.

Roxas was staring right at me, eyes curiously glimmering in the faltering light of the room. He looked almost as though he hadn't heard me.

"Excuse me?"

That was his reply. Just that.

There was something funny about Roxas and about how I was around him. Unlike every other person in the entire world I could totally justify getting mad at him. I wasn't afraid of hurting his feelings or of what he might say back. Like I had yesterday, I was already rising to the occasion. I could feel the anger simmering in my veins. He insulted the most wonderful person in the world yesterday. That meant that I didn't have to be nice to him.

I mean, what did Sora do to him anyway?

"I said," I muttered darkly, dropping my eyes in a moment of awkwardness. "That you need a haircut."

Pence let out a soft whimper beside me. Obviously, he thought that Roxas's gang buddies were waiting outside and I was going to be jumped the moment I set a foot out of this building. Roxas laughed a little, softly, so that Mrs. Lockhart didn't stop her lecture about variables. His laugh was mocking, as if he couldn't believe what he heard.

"Oh, I get it," Roxas hissed. "You can't _see_."

Oh God. I should have leaped from my seat and tackled him to the floor. I already knew what he was implying. He knew I had a big crush on Sora. He knew he was in the way. He knew I blamed his stupid hair. Roxas was smirking and he turned toward Sora and poked his chiseled shoulder. I was mortified that some ungodly creature like Roxas was touching my angel.

"Hey, Sora, can you move?" Roxas asked.

Sora turned unwillingly from the teacher's lecture, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Move? Why would I move?" Sora replied in hushed whispers.

This was the moment I should have stopped him. This was where I jumped up and clamped a hand to his mouth. This is the part where I laughed shrilly to block whatever Roxas was about to say next.

Not.

"The girl next to me can't see you very well anymore. She says my hair is in the way."

I sat, completely and utterly mortified, my face turning thirty shades of red. There was one thing I was sure of though: I was going to kill Roxas. I could already feel my hands curl into uncharacteristic fists. I didn't dare look to Sora to see his expression. Rather, I plotted ways to strangle Roxas without being seen. Surprisingly, there were quite a few.

"C'mon Roxas, pay attention." Sora responded and I could detect the carefree smile in his voice.

That was what I liked about Sora. He was nice. He wasn't just nice to his friends like some people (his girlfriend came to mind), but to every single living creature there ever was. Sora was honestly perfect, maybe a little naïve sometimes, but so strange and sweet it melted any girl's heart. Especially mine. Already I could feel it melting into a puddle, though it was still simmering with anger directed at Roxas. Maybe it would evaporate completely.

I'm not sure what got into me. Usually I was meek and composed, thus making me an easy target for tricks and evil plots. I was always the quiet girl, the over achiever, but at that moment I was everything but. I wanted to seriously hurt Roxas and I couldn't do so sitting down. I did the only rational thing I could-I stood up and slapped the tabletop of my desk. It rang out across the class, but it got Roxas's attention. Sadly, along with everyone else's.

"I. Can't. Believe. You." I hissed between clenched teeth.

Some people were under the impression that I couldn't pack a punch. Wrong. I hung out with two boys every single day; I picked up a few lessons along the way.

Roxas, never one to be a coward, leaped up too and stared at me. Already I could feel the eyes penetrating me, boring holes into my pale skin. Those looking at us alone were enough to bring me to my knees. I was feeling a little dizzy, this was so unlike me that I wanted to throw myself at the teacher's feet and apologize endlessly. Roxas, though, was like a statue. A gargoyle to be precise. He was unmoving and intimidating and if I sat down now that would make me a loser. Today, for once, I didn't want to lose.

"What?" He asked, his voice stupidly innocent while still mocking. "I just asked Sora if he would move. That's helping you, right? I'm just trying to be a helpful guy."

I was going to raise my fist and punch him-I had every intention of doing so-put good old Pence tugged on my arm and I saw his stricken face. He looked so frightened and bewildered he wasn't sure what he should do. This was one side of Olette he didn't see very often… if ever. I felt almost bad. Then, I turned to Roxas and all of that anger swelled up again.

Our teacher couldn't have picked a better time to intervene. She had her ruby eyes wide and had her gloved hands on her hips. Her face looked angry.

"Is there a problem here?" Mrs. Lockhart asked.

I was going to say something, like, 'Oh no Mrs. Lockhart everything is fine.' And then sit down like nothing ever happened. Probably bury myself in shame for disrupting class and then, after class, apologize to Mrs. Lockhart and request Roxas move elsewhere. Like all of my teachers, Mrs. Lockhart adored me and usually did what I asked. I could get the spunky blond to move easily.

However, Roxas beat me.

"Yeah, there is."

Mrs. Lockhart looked quizzical, her eyes lingering on my horror stricken face. She didn't want to implement any punishment on me-I was her favorite student. Already, though, I could see the resolve on her face and she just sighed.

"Then maybe you two should go figure it out in the office," our teacher decided.

My world had to be ending _now._ I was waiting for the end and I was ready for it. Maybe I wanted the end more than the fact that it was actually coming. Time should have stopped. The scene should have vanished. Everything should have been whisked away.

But it didn't. Actually, I felt my feet dragging me away from desk, away from Pence's grasp. They were traitor feet! Simply taking me to my inevitable doom. Mrs. Lockhart already had two slips of papers, obviously spilling the tale of what had just happened. I could feel Roxas behind me. He was smirking. _The office?_ My mind squeaked. I'd never been to the office before, except for good things. Never had a teacher sent me there because I disrupted the class. The look Mrs. Lockhart gave me was breaking my heart already. Nervously, I slid a hand through my wavy hair draped over my shoulder.

The moment we walked into the hallway I was already blaming Roxas. Stupid Roxas made this whole thing happen! If he hadn't insulted Sora yesterday I wouldn't have even been angry with him for blocking my view! If he hadn't told Sora that I couldn't see him I wouldn't have stood up! It was entirely his fault.

Roxas didn't seem to mind a bit that we were going to the office. Actually, he looked as though he walked this way a lot. For some reason it didn't surprise me. I didn't say a word to him, but I passed him green-eyed glares often. Roxas seemed to prefer the silence too as he sauntered beside me.

The moment we came upon the office door I put my hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and glanced back to Roxas.

Only to see that he was walking the other way.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" I cried, giving him a little huff of dismay.

Startled, he turned around.

"You're still there? I thought you would be inside already begging for forgiveness." Roxas stated as though this was pure fact.

I glared at him again. But it did nothing that I wanted. Like turn him to ash or something.

"You'll get in more trouble if you don't come in here," I muttered.

He shrugged. I wondered vaguely why I cared if he got in more trouble. If I was lucky he'd get suspended and I wouldn't have to see him for a few more days. However, I happened to be pretty unlucky. Knowing me he probably wouldn't even get caught.

"You go on in, I'll be hanging out around here," he assured me and then he turned around and walked on.

I lingered in front of the door a moment, watching him go. One part of me said to just go into the office like the good girl I was. Another said to drag Roxas back over here and make him endure this torture with me. And a tiny microscopic piece said to follow him, because I didn't want to go in either.

I walked.

Right into the office and sat on one of their least comfy chairs, being the good girl I was.

And you thought I went with him too.

- - -

The moment I came to my usual lunch table Hayner and Pence stopped talking. They innocently began cramming tatter tots into their mouths so that they didn't have to say anything. Obviously, they had been talking about me. Sighing, I plopped down. I didn't even bother getting a lunch. I had no appetite to speak of. The principle had mercy on me; passing me the usual "if you do this again you'll get punished severely, but sense you're such a good student we won't this time."

I still felt terrible though. It didn't help that both Hayner and Pence felt the need to stare at me as though I had three heads.

"_What_?"

They both gulped down their food and Hayner leaned forward eagerly.

"Is it true that you punched Roxas and he went and cried like a baby?"

I choked on the air I was breathing. Pence thumped me on the back until I stopped gagging. Finally, once I gained some ounce of my composure, I glared at Pence.

"What did you tell him?!" I demanded, feeling almost as angry as I got whenever Roxas was around.

Pence held up his hands defensively, "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't say anything about it."

Hayner pointed to the table behind him. There I could see Sora pumping his fist in the air and then pantomiming someone crying like, if I was being blunt, a big baby. Those around him looked at his play with awe. Kairi and Selphie, however, snorted in disbelief. Obviously, Sora took it upon himself to spread the story of "Olette and Roxas's Climatic Encounter". It was all wrong though and somehow he had messed up the facts. Which was odd, considering he had been right there. Maybe he hadn't been paying attention?

"But I didn't hit anyone!" I protested quickly.

"You almost did," Pence pointed out sheepishly.

Hayner looked incredulous, as though this was somehow worse than actually hitting Roxas.

I sighed, defeated. My day had been going from good to worse. The only thing that was great so far was my lack of seeing Roxas. Ever since I left the office I hadn't seen him anywhere. Not that I was looking or anything.

Suddenly, Hayner and Pence perked up, their eyes hovering above my head. They grinned brightly and waved, ushering someone over by the looks of it. I wasn't paying too much attention as I pondered the fact that now the whole school thought I hit the new kid. Surely they knew me better than that. Yet, the realization that they didn't crashed into me. Only then did I surface back up to the present to stop thinking about my terrible future.

"Hey man!" Hayner called, gesturing to the seat beside him. "How's it going?"

I think I might have known who was approaching our table, because suddenly I was numb from frustration. The only thing I could do was pray that I was wrong. However, because of the sudden anger pricking at my consciousness I knew I was not.I was rarely ever wrong and I suddenly hated it. Only one thought penetrated my sudden dread: _Why me?_

Pence didn't seem to falter his happy demeanor, grinning merrily at the newcomer. The boy slid into the seat in front of me, blocking out Sora's face again. Instinctually I glared.

Of course it was Roxas.

"You know guys know each other, right?" Hayner asked, pointing at me. He was smirking and I offered my glare to him too.

"Yeah. You're the girl who went psycho because I got in your way of drooling at Sora-"

"It's Olette." I snapped.

_Psycho?! I went "psycho"! The nerve! _It really was too bad that looks couldn't kill. It would have made my life considerably more enjoyable. My eyes were hurting from glaring so much today.

Pence and Hayner quickly got into a conversation about the upcoming Struggle Tournament in which Roxas eagerly responded to. I drowned them out. I was starting to think that my whole schedule was going to be hated. Roxas had a fabulous knack of stalking me. I wouldn't be surprised if he had all of the same classes as me.

- -

I shouldn't have thought it. It should have never passed through my mind.

Roxas had every class I had, except for homeroom and French (that period he had Spanish with Hayner). He even had Biology, which I spent comfortably staring at Sora. Though Roxas tried to strike up conversations every period I thoroughly ignored him until he finally gave up. Also, because of the rumors about me allegedly punching Roxas, I was given a wide berth whenever I walked through the hallways. Even Kairi and Selphie left me alone. Not a particularly bad thing, but very odd anyway.

Now I was storming away from the building fuming. If this was how my life was going to be for a whole year I had no idea how I was going to survive. Maybe I could transfer?

That was when Hayner bombarded me, carrying a Spanish textbook in his hand. I was puzzled as to why he had it, considering he had lost his three days after he got it. Panting and tinged red, he held the book out to me. I stared at it.

"O-Olette, you gotta h-help me out!"

"What do you want me to do?" I asked as any good friend would.

He looked up at me timidly, running a hand over the textbook in question. He was nervous. Weird.

"I... um… need you to deliver this to someone…"

"No," was my immediate response.

"What? You don't even know who it's to!" He exclaimed.

Actually, I did. Seeing as how my day was currently going I knew whom it had to be to. It was a Spanish book and Hayner had borrowed it. Hayner wasn't the most popular guy around and so he borrowed it from a friend. What friend? Roxas, of course.

"Oh c'mon Olette, you gotta! Pence has that photography club today and I have basketball practice!" Hayner thrust the book at me again, eyes pleading and lips pouted. "If you don't Roxas is gonna kill me! He's _way_ into getting homework done, you know?"

This mildly surprised me. I didn't think that Roxas had enough brain capacity to get homework done. I was about to object, but Hayner gave me a final look. One that said, 'if you were really my friend you'd do this for me'. He knew I was a sucker for that look. My brain screamed to turn and walk away, but my loyal self assured me that all I had to do was hand it to Roxas and leave. No problem.

Rolling my eyes I took the textbook and sighed.

"Thank you Olette! You're my savior!" Hayner caught me in a friendly bone crushing hug, waved, and rushed off.

As though it was a strike of divine intervention, Roxas exited the building and began walking in the opposite direction of the residential district. I pursued him, and even called out his name, but he didn't even flinch. Suddenly I got very curious. Where was he going anyway?

What I didn't know was that I was about to meet Roxas's little "gang".

All thirteen members if you counted Roxas. Since Roxas didn't exist in my world except as an annoying void of doom...

Make that twelve members.

* * *

Review time!

**wa r a e nai: **Hehe thanks I actually didn't like the beginning all that much diez but now that I look back on it, I like it a little better. Thanks, and expect more Roxette in the upcoming chappy! Oh, and about the Kairi thing: I've got something planned for her, soooo yep. x3 zips mouth shut before she gives everything away

**Midnight Hikari: **Yo! And I didn't like the letter very much. -.- So, I trashed it. (Plus it was really old when I came and posted this). I'll try to peek at your story! Thanks a lot, though, for the review! huggles

**namixasette789**: Thanks for liking the story! And, yeah, no one seems to like Kairi in here apparently. xD But, again, I've got something planned for her. I just noticed that no one says anything about Selphie. Poor minor characters... sniff But thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!

And thanks to everyone who read this fanfic, even if you didn't review. D


	3. A Helping Hand

_**Author's Note:**_Sorry for the really late update! D:_  
_

* * *

_And while she wept a boy came_

_He gave her back her crown_

_And then,_

_He just smiled_

Somehow, I ended up in a kitchen with thirteen hooded figures staring at me, mouths agape, with pointy objects cluttered around them. Somehow, the Spanish book was not the mighty weapon I thought it was and thus, I was trapped. Somehow, Roxas coughed and everyone was staring at him and a large white box.

"Sooo… about the crème puffs?"

* * *

Apparently, when it comes down to fine dining, there are certain things that must be in place. This, I was learning now, was a do or die business and without the essentials death was preferable.

"The thing is everyone _loves_ some freaking crème puffs. I swear Demyx stuffs crack in them," Larxene mused while tearing a raw chicken viciously apart. "That's stupid enough for Demyx to do." She added snidely.

I was also learning that Larxene was about as gentle as a snake. Both in personality and the way she cooked. She slammed everything, clattered silverware, tore and ripped meat, cut vegetables not with a normal knife but with ikunai/i. But everyone in the kitchen had a special way they did things.

Demyx was too gentle to deal with meat, so he was put on desserts. Marluxia decorated each tray, often with highly perfumed flowers, making each dish look incredible. Axel liked to burn things—both literally and figuratively. It hadn't happened just once that Larxene's sleeve conspicuously caught on fire. Otherwise he was on oven duty, which required the low-level skill of preheating, getting out dishes and putting them in the oven, and other very minimal duties. (Axel had caused one too many accidents in the kitchen, they would tell me later.)

It was a commotion in the kitchen. The rest of the members cooked and cleaned with practiced hands. And they all wore the same dark cloak I saw Roxas in now as he helplessly explained the mix-up.

"Dude, what are we going to do?" He asked Axel.

"Man, oh man. Xemmy is gonna kill you," Axel explained happily as he pushed buttons on the oven.

"Dude! You seriously aren't going to help me?" Roxas whined.

I giggled, only because Roxas sounded like a girl when he whined. Suddenly, Axel's green eyes zeroed in on me.

"Hey, who invited the chick? Roxas, you know the rule: no girlfriends in the kitchen. Got it memorized?"

I was starting to find out this was Axel's tagline. He asked everyone if they "got it memorized". Unless they were retarded, I was pretty sure everyone got it. I guess Axel just wanted to make sure—

Wait. _Girlfriend?_

"Ew," I said instinctively, cringing away from Roxas.

"Ew?" Roxas repeated snidely. "Don't worry Olette, I wouldn't date you anyway."

"Thank God," I snapped.

"Whoa, whoa. Am I sensing some kind of animosity here? I think the stranger needs to explain what she's doing here before you go and get the crème puffs Roxy. Maybe she can help you. You know, I have a very important role here in the kitchen—"

"You turn the oven on and off," Roxas interjected.

"—So I can't help you man."

I rolled my eyes. I felt like a part of me had been sucked into Wonderland and I was surrounded by crazies.

But they weren't crazy—or, at least, that's what they said. They were all employees of the Oblivion Hotel and they crafted beautiful and delicious meals for the guests here. Apparently, the Hotel was very top-notch. I know that I could never stay here due to the outrageous cost. They called themselves the "Organization" and when they weren't at the Hotel they were out in Twilight Town catering to other rich places.

Roxas wasn't part of a gang.

He was part of a catering "Organization".

I couldn't wait to tell Pence and Hayner. Yet, there was a crisis on hand. Roxas opened the white box to reveal donuts. Not the beloved crème puffs that were such a hit, but plain donuts.

"That bakery didn't have anything else!" Roxas cried, "What else was I supposed to do?"

"You're a dead man," Larxene hissed and, to make a point, ripped apart a whole raw chicken.

I don't know why I opened my big mouth. I was still standing there with that stupid Spanish book in a kitchen full of weirdos—Roxas being the biggest of them all—but at that moment he looked so helpless and scared I couldn't help it. So I said it.

"I know where a bakery is that sells crème puffs all the time. It's kinda a long drive from here though."

Roxas looked at me in wonder. Axel nodded and smirked.

"Well, you have a thirty minutes, just take the van. Dinner starts in an hour and you know how long Demyx takes on the damn crème puffs."

The next thing I knew, we were standing before a white van with "Organization Catering" splattered on the side. Roxas drove, while I sat shotgun. It took me a moment to believe the situation I was in: riding in a creepy van with Roxas as my driver just to get some crème puffs so he didn't lose his job. And I still had the Spanish book clutched in my hands, the cover probably sweaty with my nerves. The van rocked and rumbled as we raced down the curling streets of Twilight Town. I let my eyes take in the world I knew so well, under circumstances I didn't.

"So," I began. "How do you know Sora?"

He gave me an incredulous look and then snapped back to the road. I noticed his gloved hands clenched the steering wheel a little harder and his jaw was fixed in a hard line.

"Sora is my cousin," he responded blankly.

The shock on my face was apparent, but Roxas didn't elaborate.

"Why do you hate him so much? He's really sweet and charming and—"

"Why do you _like_ him so much? He doesn't even notice you're alive!" Roxas cried, rolling those blue eyes of his. The ones that looked like his cousin's.

I looked out the window. I knew Sora didn't know I was alive, but I didn't need the reminder. I held the Spanish book closer. There was nothing more painful than seeing the one you love with someone else—especially like Kairi. And how a jerk like Roxas could even be related eluded me.

"Look, I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else. Like why you've been carrying a Spanish book around all day."

I sighed and looked at him again. He was forgiven, I guess…

"Hayner forgot to give it back. He said you needed it to finish your homework," I explained. "That's why I came."

Roxas looked surprised, "Wow. Thanks."

I paused.

"You're welcome."

* * *

When we returned to the Oblivion Hotel, crème puffs in hand, Roxas smiled at me for the first time ever.

"Thanks Ollie, you really helped me out. Weird of you, considering you hate my guts."

"I do not—well, yeah I do hate your guts," I admitted with a sheepish shrug.

Then we both started laughing for no reason and couldn't stop. I don't know what was so funny. The fact that Roxas knew clearly where he stood with me or the fact that his gang was a bunch of caterers or just the world was funny at that moment. It was all hilarious.

"Roxas?" A voice floated down the massive staircase in front of us. It sounded like a tinkling of bells on a windy day. We both stopped laughing abruptly.

I gazed at a girl as white as snow. Her blonde hair dipped over one shoulder and her white dress made her blend into the white Hotel. She had a pretty face and doll-like lips. She was beautiful.

"I'll be there in a minute Namine," Roxas said meekly.

Right then I knew he liked her. A little pit of disappointment filled my heart then, but I wasn't sure why. I certainly wasn't _attracted _to Roxas. At all. No way. But when he looked at Namine there was a special sparkle in his eye. I just wanted someone to look at me like that.

"Well, I gotta go. Here's the book," I handed him the Spanish book and whirled around to leave.

"Olette, wait!" Roxas called.

I turned around and gave him a thumbs up.

"It's okay. I gotta do my homework and you better do yours too!" I called back and left.

The feeling grew even stronger.


End file.
